From Barcelona to New York, songwriter, fusion artist, and multi-instrumentalist Albert Alabedra release his inspirational and eco-friendly single, "Save the Bees and Manatees."
The classically trained guitarist knows his way around various genres and sounds; his versatile discography has allowed him to create a unique "fusion" sound he calls his own. After moving to New York, Alabedra landed his music in iconic venues and notable festivals like the Flamenco Fusion Festival, the five editions of the Harlem Eat up Festival, the New York Ethnic Music Festival, and the NYC Multicultural Fest.
Recently releasing his collaboration EP, "Wood Wide Web," the project takes listeners through the importance of protecting our wildlife and ecosystems alongside various other artists that bring the EP to life. Highlighting the fourth track, "Save The Bees and Manatees," Albert Alabedra is accompanied by the stylings of Aisha Fay, Bob DiGiacomo, and Xianix Barrera to deliver an upbeat anthem of environmental protection.
Listening to "Save The Bees and Manatees," the song opens with a bright trumpet melody alongside a lush percussion arrangement and soothing acoustic guitar melodies. Not to mention the delicate and passionate piano melodies, the entire instrumental is nothing but well-rounded and thorough.
Expanding on Aisha Fay's bright and beaming vocal stylings, she takes listeners through the importance of loving your environmental surroundings and the beings that innocently roam the earth. She encourages us to come together as one and fight the battle against climate change. We adore the relaxed and peaceful approach they've taken with this piece; it perfectly highlights the lyrical theme while allowing listeners to lose themselves in the dense instrumentals.
Do your part and "Save The Bees and Manatees" with Albert Alabedra's meaningful hit, now available on all digital streaming platforms.
Welcome to BuzzMusic Albert Alabedra, and congratulations on the release of your meaningful EP, 'Wood Wide Web.' What inspired you to create a project surrounding climate change?
More than inspired by climate change it is inspired by nature and wildlife. Obviously, you can make the connection to climate change if you want to, but I'm not a fan of the term climate change; it's everything change like Margaret Atwood said: 'I think calling it climate change is rather limiting, I would rather call it the everything change.' We have a beautiful planet and we seem to be more focused on finding life on other planets than protecting the one we have.
On a trip to the beautiful state of Utah a few years ago I had the luck of seeing the Pando Aspen trees. Each of the approximately 47,000 trees is genetically identical and they all share a single root system. This is when I found out about the term "Wood Wide Web", the underground network of microbes that connects trees. They talk to each other, they heal and help each other, it's really fascinating.
How does the EP 'Wood Wide Web' represent you and the music you create? What do projects like this mean to you?
It represents me in the way that I love trees, I love nature, I love animals, I love this amazing planet we have, so I wanted the album to be inspired and dedicated to all these. For me, it means to hope and also joy. My biggest happiness has always been being in nature. The beauty of some places I have been like the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, the Mississippi, and the Missouri River to name a few, have really inspired me to create lots of music. For example, our lives depend on the insects pollinating, and we just don't think about it. We go to the supermarket and buy tomatoes without thinking about all the processes that allowed the tomato to be there. We must reconnect with nature if we want to protect the environment and biodiversity.
Who wrote the passionate lyrics for "Save The Bees and Manatees?" Was this a collaborative process as well?
I wrote the lyrics for Save the Bees and the Manatees. Bees are one of the most important and fascinating animals on earth, honey bees dance to share resources such as food, water, and nests, isn't it amazing? Their population has been in decline for decades and we all know about this. Manatees are one of the most beautiful animals on the planet. The gentle giants are also endangered so I thought about writing a song that included both of them and it was a good rhyme: bees-manatees. The whole album was a collaborative process, each of the musicians played masterfully and contributed a lot, and put their fingerprints on it. When they knew the theme of the album they got even more involved and excited about being part of it.
What was your collaborative process like with the various artists when creating "Save The Bees and Manatees?" How did that process go about?
I first created the music and wrote the lyrics, then sent it to the producer, bassist, and editor of the album, the incredible Bob DiGiacomo and he really liked it, I remember him saying: 'I love bees, I grew up with bees in upstate New York'. So he started writing arrangements and thinking about the production of the song. Then I went to Spain to meet with the amazing Aisha Fay who recorded the vocals. Aisha's personality and sensibility fit perfectly with the song, it couldn't have been better. Hearing her amazing voice gave me goosebumps in the studio. So back in New York, Bob continued the production process, and then Xianix Barrera recorded the claps. Actually, Bob said that this was his favorite song of the album when the song was not even finished. We are now planning on releasing a video clip for this song too in the coming months.
Have you always merged activism with music? Has this been a part of your musical brand since you first began releasing music?
Since I was a kid my parents raised me to love nature and animals so I always had this in me. Since the release of my first professional album, you could tell by some of the lyrics that nature and environment have always been there, but it was later when I focused on it. Right now I only want to write music and lyrics dedicated to nature and wildlife. It makes me really happy and fulfills me to know that I'm putting my little grain of sand and that I can inspire other people through my music. In 2020 I released 'Occhiolism,' another album in which I dedicated a song to Monarch Butterflies, another critically endangered animal that really fascinates me. I was amazed to discover that some people started planting milkweed in the Canary Islands in Spain after listening to my song. I didn't even know that there were monarchs there. These kinds of things make you feel that your work has been worth it.